Offbeat

What's that smell? Oh, it's just the city's dead skunk depot

BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) - Residents of a Buffalo, N.Y., neighborhood plagued by skunk odors now know what caused the stink: Trapped critters that were shot and stored at a shuttered police station.

The Buffalo News reports that the city's public works commissioner confirmed Monday that humanely trapped skunks have been taken to an old police station in South Buffalo, where they're shot and stored in outdoor freezer until they can be incinerated.

Residents say they complained about the smell months ago but were told by city officials that skunks weren't being killed inside the building. Later, they were told only a few skunks were killed there by lethal injection.

One neighborhood leader has dubbed the community scandal "Skunkgate."

City officials say they're looking for new locations for dispatching the nuisance skunks.